Tiebreaker drops Lisle to 4th
MOLINE -- After tying 27-27 with Oregon on a Class A third-place mat on Saturday, Lisle's wrestling team had to "settle" for fourth place when Oregon was given the win by virtue of having won more matches.
There are teams throughout Illinois that would take that settlement in a heartbeat.
"I'm not complaining," said Lisle coach John Davis. "The kids gave it their all. It's been a good group, a good season and they came out and wrestled well today."
In the second trip downstate in program history, Lisle (21-3) brought home its second fourth-place trophy from this year's state finals, from Moline's Wharton Field House.
Lions senior Matt Rafacz -- a member of Lisle's fourth-place team two years ago -- only had one regret after the Oregon match.
"It (stinks) that I won't ever get to wrestle as a Lion. I won't ever get to wrestle with these guys again," Rafacz said.
"It's great to bring a trophy home for the school, and horrible that I don't get to wrestle with my friends again."
Lisle's 34-25 quarterfinal win over Petersburg PORTA guaranteed the Lions a downstate trophy, with Josh Andrzejewski (135 pounds) and Jake Kretman (140) clinching the win with a pair of decisions to end the dual.
Lisle earned an 8-6 edge in matches won against PORTA, getting additional wins from Rafacz (119), David Pawlowicz (145), Adam Carlson (152), Mike Nigro (160), Eric Barker (171) and Kevin Murray (189).
"We had 13 guys returning from last year," Rafacz said. "Last year Harvard stopped us from getting here, and this year we had something to prove."
Lisle ran into eventual state champion Wilmington in its semifinal match, losing 38-29 before placing fourth to Oregon on the third-place mat.
Pawlowicz was a freshman on the Lions' squad that placed downstate two years ago, and he had a realization Saturday.
"My freshman year, I thought we had so many stars and that maybe this team didn't," Pawlowicz said. "But it really hit me that we do, and that this team is more spread-out solid."
The Lions will return a strong core of underclassmen, including a 30-plus match-winner in Adam Gleason (125) and Pawlowicz, and 20-plus match winners in Kretman, Murray, Brandon Wolak (103), Brian Reese (112) and Ryan Burris (215).
"We've also got some good freshmen coming in, so hopefully we'll be OK next year," Davis said. "It'll be tough losing those seniors, though."
The Lions will lose seniors Andrzejewski, Rafacz, Carlson, Nigro, Barker and Gio Esposito to graduation.
Rafacz (119) and Andrzejewski (130) were 30-plus match winners this year, while Carlson, Nigro, Barker, and Esposito all won 25-plus matches.
"The seniors have been such a solid group," Davis said. "We made them all our captains this year, and they've been good leaders."